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You've been gifted an NFT. Great! Now what?

If, in today's dizzying reality, you were just gifted an NFT… Congrats! And now redeeming this gift feels like extra work you didn't ask for.

Luciana Jaalouk

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Read on medium.com⁠

(continue here if you’re a visual reader like me)

Surely you’ve heard of NFTs at this point, let alone know it’s connected to the metaverse (1) , someway, somehow...

Worry not. Follow 6 easy steps to claim your digital gift (on a need-to-know basis for the lazy ones, and with an intro to the deeper levels for the curious ones).

Disclaimer - I am not sponsored and no crypto expert (yet), I am however aware of the lack of guidance for the general public today. I am learning everyday, so if some info below seems off, please provide feedback!

View my first NFT collection
`V3rs Shv3rs`⁠
this guide is inspired from!

Instead of texting instructions to the collection’s 16 humans, I’ve written this how-to-claim guide instead.

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CLAIM YOUR NFT

Setup a wallet (choose either of the more widely-known hosted wallets, there are a lot more wallet types out there you can also choose from)

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Coinbase Wallet⁠

(I have this)

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Metamask Wallet⁠

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Best practice would be to also download the chosen wallet app on your smartphone.

Share your

Ethereum⁠

(ETH) wallet address with your gifter. Please note:

As you retrieve your wallet address, make sure your default network is ETH (or

Polygon⁠

, the ETH protocol I used to

mint⁠

the NFTs in this case (2)). The wallet address will be the SAME as you

switch networks⁠

between the two anytime.

Make sure the address is correct, if it’s not, the transfer could be lost forever

Your wallet address will look something like this “0xf2...123.”

DO NOT share what is called your

seed phrase⁠

, the 12-word private key, with anyone (I’m serious, no one). If you lose this key, you will lose all assets in your wallet, forever, so back. it. up.

Now WAIT (ugh) until the NFT owner transfers the item to your address

IF you’d like, you can ask for the

transaction hash/hash ID⁠

to track your transfer in the ether... (on

etherscan⁠

polygoncan⁠

)

You won’t need crypto money in your wallet to receive this transfer via Opensea

Once the gifter confirms the transfer, link your Wallet to Opensea

Head to

opensea.io⁠

and download the

Opensea app⁠

⁠

In the menu, connect Opensea to your wallet

VOILÀ, confirm reception of the NFT in your wallet (under NFTs or Collectibles) with your gifter, and be happy.

Bonus: Since you’ve already interacted with the

opensea.io⁠

platform, and if you have extra time:

Edit your profile (Opensea automatically creates a generic username based on your connected wallet address)

Sell your NFT, or browse other NFTs and buy (be cautious, most transactions may have an associated fee)

At any time, you can see the history of transfers, sales and transactions in Opensea for any NFT.

If you want to publicly display your item on Opensea

If you want the hidden item that was transferred to you to be publicly displayed, you can unhide it from your profile.

Tap on the three dots at the top of the asset, and click on unhide

NB: all items transferred from a verified collection will be publicly visible on your profile by default. However, all transferred items form unverified collections (which is the case here), will now be located in the hidden tab of your profile account by default.

Hey, maybe down the line you’ll start gifting NFTs also!?

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Read a writeup on my experience⁠

launching and gifting my first NFT collection.

(1) I’d rather not use the term “metaverse,” it is a loaded term and has quickly adopted varying connotations and meanings. Until we hone in and create more targeted wording and terms, I will use metaverse to broadly describe the movement within the ecosystem intersecting web3, art, behavioral changes, social interactions, commerce trends etc.

(2)

Polygon⁠

is a “sibling” to ETH, a Layer-2 scaling solution with its own benefits (including lower gas fees) for the mass adoption of ETH.

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WHAT TO DO FROM HERE?

Do nothing and brag about it!

Display it on a

digital frame⁠

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Send it (from either your wallet or your Opensea account)

Make sure you have enough gas money for the transaction

Tap on the 'NFTs' tab in your wallet

Tap on the icon of the NFT you wish to send

Tap on the 'send' button at the bottom of the screen

Enter the address you wish to send it to, hit 'Next', and follow the standard transaction prompts

Sell it (from the NFT platform it is on)

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Note: there are SO many resources, experts and guides to quote from, this is by no means a representation of what’s best out there or a reflection of my opinions, but only serves as an introduction to get you going, get you learning, get your hands dirty... Please do your own research (DYOR)

INTRO TO THE DEEPER LEVELS

What can I do with my NFT gift?

The choice is completely yours. Unless the NFT owner specifies a smart contract or regulations around the usage rights of your NFT (which you would be made aware of), you can download, share, re-share, transfer or sell your asset. In this collection, the NFTs were transferred to the gift recipients, so they are now the owners of it, however in regular buying instances, that is not always the case.

Read here for more clarity on NFT ownership rights.⁠

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What are people using NFTs for?

There is an ongoing debate on the most impactful and right/wrong ways to use NFTs, however if we are focusing on the art and creative sphere, it is a form of expression and ownership not known to artists before, where we get the recognition and ability to prove the source of truth of our work, and provide flexibility and control over what can be done with it. NFTs can also be linked by the creator to physical art or assets ownership, or to provide entry to exclusive groups and events.

TLDR; NFTs allow artists to easily monetize their work without a third party. Aside from artwork and digital avatars, NFTs have various other use cases, including but not limited to, collectibles, online ticketing, and document verification.

What’s an NFT?

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital tokens stored on the blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrencies, where each coin is the same (there’s no reason to prefer one particular Bitcoin over another), each NFT is unique and can be sold as a way to prove ownership over some sort of digital file.

An NFT’s true utility comes from its underlying blockchain technology that enables the ownership, transparency, and security of digital assets. Furthermore, an NFT’s true value lies in its provenance.

What’s a wallet?

Your wallet can be compared to an email account for your cryptocurrency; you share your email address but not your password. Your public keys/wallet addresses are like your email address, and private keys are similar to the password you use to login to your email.

A cryptocurrency wallet stores your public and private keys giving you control over the funds associated with that wallet.

Your keys allow you to send and receive coins on the blockchain via your wallet.

You can view all of your transaction histories inside the wallet and in a blockchain explorer.

Transactions stored on the blockchain are very secure and irreversible.

Your private key, password and backup phrase stay private (12-word seed phrase).

Your public key generates a wallet address that you can share.

If you lose your password and / or security phrase, you’ll be out of luck with both MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet — neither company can do anything to help you. That means you’ll lose access to any cryptocurrency or NFTs stored in that wallet, as well as the accounts that you’ve set up using it. So seriously, keep your password and secret phrase safe and do share it.

The best cryptocurrency wallet depends on your needs and the features you need them to fulfill.

What’s Ethereum (ETH)? What’s Polygon?

Read about

Ethereum⁠

and

Polygon⁠

What’s an ETH wallet address?

Ethereum addresses are composed of the prefix "0x".

An Ethereum address is a 64 character hex string generated subject to various rules defined in the Ethereum yellow paper. It represents a unique account on the Ethereum network and has an associated private key. This private key is requried to prove ownership of the address and has to be kept safe.

Why the extra step with Polygon?

The way I’ve

minted⁠

the NFTs, I’ve used Polygon instead of Ethereum on OpenSea for a few reasons (it has differentiating benefits, but certainly not the end all be all):

Built on top of ETH, it allows users to take advantage of the security Ethereum offers while avoiding the expensive fees.

Polygon also has some benefits over Bitcoin, which uses a proof of work technology that requires complex calculations and computing power. This results in massive electricity consumption, hence Bitcoin isn't deemed environmentally friendly. Polygon, however, uses proof of stake. This alternative method doesn’t have the same requirements for computing power and hence it promises a significant reduction in energy consumption compared to Bitcoin.

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Read more on the advantages of Polygon⁠

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How does this tie into the metaverse?

In every way, but not the only way... Which is a very vague answer, however standards, best practices and guidelines are being established today. The metaverse, web3, and NFTs are only pieces of a fast-paced movement that will establish how we transact together, communicate, socialize, etc. in the next few years.

I want to buy crypto, how and where?

To buy cryptocurrencies, you'll need a “wallet” — an online app that can hold your currency. Generally, you create an account on an exchange, and then you can transfer real money to buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. See below for a list by researchers from thebalance.com:

Best Overall: Coinbase.

Best for Beginners: eToro.

Best for No Cost: Robinhood.

Best Instant: CoinMama.

Best for Interest and Borrowing: BlockFi.

Best for Privacy: Bisq.

How do I learn more?

Educate yourself! The best way to do that is to follow IG accounts, Twitter experts and hashtags, and allow yourself to be inundated with knowledge. There is still a lot more even I am learning, but the last place you want to find yourself is somewhere where you don’t even know what you don’t know.

And once things start to get a bit overwhelming, put it all away and GO OUTSIDE AND TOUCH THE GRASS. And while you live in the moment, use your own self-governance for both your virtual and physical endeavors, and do what best meets your needs at the time.

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